Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue. (Eugene O'Neil)

October 2009

October 13, 2009

The following
excerpt is from the book, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church
(Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network, 2007), p. 121-123, and speaks to the
very nature and mindset of a healthy multi-ethnic church.For a quick take on the subtle, but
significant difference between building bridges to the community and being the community, skip now to the final paragraph.

Essentially I am saying that for a healthy multi-ethnic church, being "missional" is not programmatic, something the church needs to do; rather it is identity, who the church is,and quite naturally flowing from the diversity of the body itself, which is a reflection of the community in all its beauty, need and potential.

Here are some additional thoughts ...

“Of course, the
mere development of a favorable reputation is not all God has in mind for the multi-ethnic
church. Indeed, the Lord would not only have us to look good in the eyes of men
but to actually do good for them in his name. Coupled with the look, our
actions will speak powerfully of Christ’s love for all people.

“With this in
mind, (Mosaic) hosted a Thanksgiving meal in 2002 for the residents of a local
trailer park; we wanted not only to serve but also to eat with our neighbors.
In addition, winter clothes were made available to the residents that day.
Given favorable reviews, we repeated the effort in 2003and expanded to serve two trailer parks the following year. The growing celebration
was moved to our own facility in 2005, and invitations were also distributed
door-to-door throughout the community immediately surrounding the church. All
totaled, some 350 people gathered for the food and festivities that year. By
then, we had expanded the University District Thanksgiving Celebration (as it
was now being called) to include games for the kids, as well as the involvement
of local police and fire departments.

“In 2006 we again
moved the location and this time served some 600–700 people on one of the
busiest corners in the city. And we continued to develop the event. That year,
a radio station came to broadcast live, and the owner of a local restaurant,
being closed for business on that day, gave us the keys to his place, allowing
people to eat inside. We even added pony rides for the children! Beyond this, a
growing list of community partners, including UALR and the First Tee of
Arkansas, are also investing annually in the effort—one we believe is meeting a
variety of individual needs on Thanksgiving Day in Little Rock.

“On another note,
I was recently approached by one of Little Rock’s city commissioners, who
informed me that our church has significantly blessed the ward she serves.
First, she said, we have helped to spur commercial revitalization in the area
by turning around the very large and formerly abandoned space we currently
occupy, namely, the old Wal-Mart. In this regard, she pointed to the fact that
a national chain has just rented 10,000 square feet of this space to provide
goods to people at an affordable cost. Because the long-term vision of our
landlord is to carve the rest of the space up for such stores, it is as if we
have fulfilled for her an important mission in being the ﬁ rst to come and
breathe life back into the building. And because we have recently signed a
contract to buy a 100,000-square-foot facility that was once a Kmart just a few
blocks to the east, she believes that Mosaic will play a major role in the
future revitalization of the University District. Beyond these community
improvements, however, she took note of the heart and passion we display for
all people, young and old, Black and White, rich and poor. She sees for her
ward a better day and is grateful that we have come to help make it so.

“Of course, many
churches, whether multi-ethnic or not, will cite their own efforts in this
regard, and all such work is truly commendable. But I have learned there is
something uniquely expressed when a diverse congregation is involved. It is a
silent witness—a nonverbal attraction that compels others to think well of its
vision and of its presence in the city.

“Because a local
church is dynamic by nature, however, I cannot say Mosaic will always be so.
What I can tell you at this time is that many recognize and appreciate our
attempt to share the love of God, not only through what we do but, more
important, through who we are. Indeed, we
do not seek simply to build a bridge to the community— we are the community.
And this subtle reality is a defining characteristic of the multi-ethnic
church, which wil be missional by nature. As such, it provides the
congregation a unique platform and helpsto establish
moral and spiritual credibility throughout the city. To mobilize for impact,
then, we must seek not so much to take the Gospel to the community but rather
through the community by embracing an “incarnational” approach.”

October 08, 2009

I was recently contacted by a univeristy professor looking to document the source and timing of the oft quoted statement, "Eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week."

Most attribute this statement to Dr. Martin Luther King; however, Dr. Billy Graham can be quoted as having said it before Dr. King.

But did you know, the observation was made far earlier in American history, in fact even before the turn of the 20th century?

I have summarized my own research on the quote in the following footnote as found in chapter one of my first book, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church. In the book, I mention the quote on page 4; the footnote itself can be found on page 186.

Should you have a desire or need to use this footnote in its entirety, or in part, please include the reference information listed below as part of your citation.

Here then is what I wrote and believe to be the best statement (currently) concerning the timing of the eleven' oclock observation:

"2. As to when and by whom this sentiment was ﬁrst observed, religious scholar
Martin Marty noted at the end of the nineteenth century,
“White Protestants, however, did little to build bonds with [Black
Protestant] churches, and racially there were at least two Americas or
Christianities. Doctrinal and practical similarity counted for little. . .
. Critics noted that the Sunday Protestant worship hour was the most
segregated time of the week. Indeed, the once righteous churches of the
North, after proclaiming triumph over the evils of slavery and the South, came
during the next century to adopt southern styles of regard for Blacks and
their churches, and there was little positive contact even within
denominational families” (John McManners, ed. The Oxford History of
Christianity [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990], 423)."